TJMaxx Hacker Flaps Arms; Hopes Aspergers Keeps Him Out of Jail

First Gary McKinnon pretended he had the assburgers. Accused of one of the largest cyber breaches against the DoD of all time, he has managed to whip up so much sympathy from leftists in Britain by faking a disease that he has managed to postpone extradition for five years. Now the biggest hacks ever committed on the commercial side will possibly go underpunished because Albert Gonzalez, aka “Segvec” started flapping his arms to say he has the assburgers too.

From the Reg here:

The international hacker who has admitted to stealing more than 130 million payment card numbers has mounted a new defense claim that he might suffer from Asperger’s syndrome, a court filing indicates.

On Tuesday, attorneys for Albert Gonzalez filed a report from a forensic psychologist that questioned the criminal hacker’s “capacity to knowingly evaluate the wrongfulness of his actions and consciously behave lawfully and avoid crime,” according to federal prosecutors. The report went on to state that his “behavior was consistent with description of the Asperger’s disorder.”

Gonzalez becomes the latest hacker under prosecution to raise the Asperger’s defense in arguing for leniency. Most notably, NASA hacker Gary McKinnon has cited the Autism-related disorder in fighting extradition to the US to face computer trespass charges. UK Home Secretary Alan Johnson has repeatedly rejected claims raised by McKinnon’s attorneys and supporters and has indicated he will not stop the forced transfer.

In August, convicted hacker Viachelav Berkovich received two years less than the minimum called for under federal sentencing guidelines after the judge in the case took the disability into consideration as a mitigating factor.

The judge hearing Gonzalez’s case has canceled a December 21 sentencing hearing, according to an entry made Wednesday on a federal court website. It’s unclear when a new hearing will be held.

People with Asperger’s are said to display behavior that’s repetitive and restricted, and they also show social awkwardness and an inability to empathize. The link between Asperger’s and crime, however, has been disputed by some researchers.

Being a social outcast is no excuse for crime. But I really don’t like this new trend of criminals claiming to suffer from an undiagnosable mental disorder to avoid prosecution or justice. People that really do suffer from this disorder should be equally upset, but of course they won’t be- they will just gather in their moms’ basements, flap their arms, and send me hate mail for daring to speak out against it.